One In A Million You

"I thought he was going to be here," Pen huffed as she paced the small room at the church. She looked at her watch…again. "Where is he?"

"Baby Girl," Derek soothed, "I know Aaron, and when he says he's going to do something or be somewhere, you can bet he will be."

"Well, Sweet Thing, he isn't here, is he?" she shot back. Impatiently she tapped her wand against her hand.

"Something must have come up."

"The wedding is in less than an hour; unless he grows wings, there is no way he is going to make it in time," she groused.

"Has Aaron shown up?" Spencer asked breathlessly as he ran thru the door.

Derek shook his head. "No."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know."

"I calculated the time from Seattle to here and the wait to get a rental car…even with weather and traffic delays, he should have been here six hours ago."

"I hate to break it to you, Boy Genius, but he isn't."

Spencer's eyebrows furrowed. "That doesn't make sense…"

"Neither does knowing how you took the time to calculate the exact time it would take for Aaron to get here," Derek snorted sarcastically.

The door opened again as Ash rush in. "Is he here yet?"

Derek turned around and looked out the large bay window. He didn't trust himself to say anything.

"He didn't show up," Spencer answered.

"What do you mean 'he didn't show up'?" she protested. "I thought you said he was going to be here."

"I don't know what happened. Maybe his plane got delayed."

"Well, he needs to show up because I don't know how much longer I can stall Jen. She wants her bouquet."

"Where is it?" Pen asked.

"I hid it in the hall closet," Ash admitted sheepishly. "Will bought it for her. I was hoping Aaron would have brought one."

"What are we going to do?" Pen moaned sadly.

"Mama, hold it together for just a little bit longer. There is a perfectly good excuse for where Aaron is, and when he shows up, it will all work out. Trust me." Derek smiled charmingly.

Pen nodded. Then she frowned. "Uh oh."

"What is 'uh oh'?" Derek asked cautiously.

"What if Aaron does get here in time…if Prince Will has the cufflink, how is he going to prove that he is Jen's prince charming?" she asked.

Derek, Spencer, and Ash looked at one another. They had been so worried that Aaron hadn't shown up that they forgot the all important question: How was he going to win the Princess's hand?

"We are so screwed," Pen moaned.

"Don't say that! There has to be something we can do!"

A knock on the door interrupted them. Regal as a queen, Erin stepped in to the room. With a twitch of her nose, she surveyed the motley crew standing around.

"Why are you standing in here?" she asked. "I thought you were going to escort me to my seat." She looked at Derek.

"We were talking," he replied. "And besides, the ceremony isn't for another hour."

"Don't get smart with me."

"Isn't Aaron supposed to show up?" Ash interjected quickly.

"Not that I'm aware of," Erin answered airily and stepped in front of the mirror to check on her perfectly coiffed hair.

"I thought he was flying in."

"Where ever did you hear that?" She spun around to look distastefully at the woman who was now her daughter in law. Now that she had Aaron out of the way, her next move was to eliminate Ashley Seaver from Spencer's life. The sooner things returned to normal, the better she was going to feel.

"Well…I thought…" Ash sputtered.

"What Ash is trying to say," Spencer rushed in, "is that I overheard you telling Anderson that Aaron was coming home for a couple of days. I assumed that he was coming to the wedding."

Erin's eyes narrowed as she stared at her youngest. She would say that he was lying, but he was never that good at it.

"Maybe his plane got delayed," she remarked. "And so what if he doesn't show up; it's not as though he is going to marry the Princess," she finished with a laugh. Holding out her hand, she gestured to Derek. "Take me to my seat. Please."

Her request left no room for argument. Derek stepped forward and linked his mother's arm thru his. Bestowing a smile upon the group, Erin let herself be led back toward the sanctuary.

"She's lying," Ash whispered.

"If she is, what can we do about it?" Spencer asked.

"I think we need to go back to her place and find out what she knows."

"I think you ought to let me turn her into a toad!" Pen bit out. She tapped her wand against her hand.

Spencer held up his hand defensively. "Let's use that as a last resort," he reasoned. "Let me get Derek, and then we'll go back to the house."

"Let me go with you," Pen said.

"No, you stay here. Do what you can to hold back the wedding until the last minute."

"What if she's done something to Aaron?" Ash's lower lip trembled.

"I doubt she's gone to extremes. She hates him, but she's not stupid. It's possible that she canceled his ticket or had him rerouted," Spencer said matter of factly.

"Let me turn her into a toad," Pen pleaded.

"No."

"A cockroach?" Her eyes brightened at the thought.

"No."

"How about a…?"

"Pen, she's still my mother."

"Grrr," she growled and stomped her foot. "But if she's done anything to Aaron…"

"You can turn her into a frog, I promise," he amended.

"I guess."

"Now that we have that settled," Spencer turned back to his wife. "Do what you can to stall the Princess…"

"I already hid her bouquet…" Ash protested.

Spencer racked his brain. "Then try something else. Anything to delay her from walking down the aisle."

"You're asking me to risk being thrown in jail and lose my best friend!"

"When we bring Aaron here, I'm sure all will be forgiven." He kissed her soundly. "And Pen can make it right."

"You bet your sweet pumpkin I will!"

Ash's eyes filled with tears as a small smile adorned her lips. Spencer looked at her worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"You said 'when we bring Aaron back', not 'if'."

"We'll be back within the hour," he promised, then ran out of the room.

"I hope they bring Aaron back so Jen can know what it's like to have a Prince Charming of her own, too." Ash's eyes sparkled with love and admiration.

"Amen to that, Sister," Pen echoed as thoughts of her man danced in her head. Snapping to, she grabbed Ash's hands. "Now let's go stop a wedding!"